Could use a little legal advice...

[SorthNarolina]

Alright about a month ago I lost my laptop. About an hour after I lost it a professor found it. She looked in the laptop and found one of my school papers, she then called me.

It was late when she called so I didn't get her message until the morning. I called her to come get it but she told me she had a custodian take it to lost and found.

I went to lost and found to get my laptop. They told me that no laptop had been signed in or out. I played the woman at the desk the voice mail on my phone and she found that odd. She made some calls and her face almost immediately drooped.

They had given my laptop away already. Some guy overheard the professor and custodian talking about the laptop. He followed the custodian to lost and found, and took the laptop. He told them that he lost a laptop in a black bag and she gave it to him.

She didn't sign in the lost property, she didn't ask for a detailed description of the laptop, she didn't sign out the lost property, and she didn't ask for any identification of the guy who picked it up. She was supposed to do all of these things.

It took me two days to get them to tell me it was actually stolen, so I could finally file a police report.

Now the police, school security, and a few administrators have told me it's the school's liability now, and that they owe me a laptop. They people that work for the school have been saying this tongue in cheek so I can't really use that testimony when dealing with the school.

At first they were pretty cooperative now then seem to be stone walling me. They say their doing internal investigations. Everybody who was directly involved I can't get a straight answer from because they seem pretty embarrassed by the whole thing.

So I feel like the school owes me compensation to replace the laptop. If the police, school security, and a few administrators hadn't of told me so I wouldn't feel this way. Originally I was just going to cut my losses and move on since I originally lost it. It's unfortunate that they were just trying to do the right thing but they did it in such an incompetent way that it is now their fault it was stolen. It's a very mixed up situation.

So what does the huddle think?

[PanthaSan]

I think if you want to see your laptop again, you will PM me some ca$h otherwise you can bid on Ebay just like everybody else......

Just Kidding! Sue the Bastages!

[Darth Biscuit]

I think the school owes you a new laptop because the dipsh*t lady at lost-and-found is a moron. They're not going to jump up and do it though... they're probably hoping you'll go away. Know any lawyers personally? A letter or a phone call from a lawyer may grease the skids a little...

[g5jamz]

Maybe they're taking their time and reviewing surveillance tapes to try to narrow down who it is. Ask them why the delay and the reasoning.

Tell them they gave your property away to someone. Could be identity theft repercussions here as well. Website cookies that may have private information on it.

They should 1) provide you with a replacement IF they admit they are not actively making efforts to recover the laptop (ie. working with police to provide security tapes, etc) 2) provide you with identity protections REGARDLESS of laptop recovery for at least 7 years (bad credit statute of limitations) and 3) ask for sexual favors from the teacher if hot.

[g5jamz]

honestly...do you have family that's a lawyer or a friend's parent or something? Have them just draft a letter with the firm letterhead. Be amazed at how fast things happen with just that.

As I said prior, they owe you AT LEAST identity theft protection.

[Delhommey]

So you want to sue the school because they did not properly recover the laptop that you lost?

I mean, sure, try to recover it, but you're the one that lost it in the first place.

[MadHatter]

I will run your situation by our legal counsel here in the office to see what he thinks....will update you shortly.

[MadHatter]

Got an update for our office "Legal Beagle". He thinks you are probably screwed.

Teh Lost and Found is there as a courtesy to students. They do fall under state law defining appropriate care.

However, their normal procedures are for people to describe the lost property and to then take posession of it. You would have to prove that they were grossly negligent in the handling of your lost property....that the person who gave it away knew that the person receiving the property was not its rightful owner. Based on our lawyers belief, you would be hard pressed to prove this.

However, you should not let them off the hook. You should keep after them....just know that if push came to shove, you probably would not win in a court of law.

Just the opinion of one lawyer though.

Good luck.

[g5jamz]

If there had not been an acknowledgement from school officials that they'd recovered it, yeah...you wouldn't have a pot to piss in.

Want to cover your base...get an affidavit from your teacher and the person that took the laptop to the office that they recovered it and provided it to the office lost and found.

[Delhommey]

Honestly, it would be a good thing and good "customer" relations that the school replaces it or at least gets you a discounted laptop in its place, but I don't feel they are liable, regardless of what legal loopholes can be found.

A lost and found department is a service of convenience. It is not their responsibility to maintain property that is brought in. They didn't really do what should have been done, but the whole process is a service they chose to do only as pretty much a favor.

So what happens when you find they are liable and take legal action? Then maybe they have to close the whole service down when they find out how liable they really are. Then anyone who loses their laptop has to just hang up posters and hope for the best.

What if the professor tripped and dropped the laptop on the way over? Would you go after her/him?

Escalate the issue, talk to whomever you can, but don't take legal action against someone who, although he/she did so poorly, was just trying to do you a favor.

[g5jamz]

^^ Agree

Do I think you've got the school on legal grounds? Not really, but perception is x/10ths of the law right? I think they should show a good will effort here and help out.

[PanthaSan]

Ok, I used the skills of one of our reasearch assistants and she said that sending a message to this claims adjuster will expedite the process.

No thanks necessary, I just love to help others....

Dept of Claims

[Carolina Husker]

Steal a horseload of shit from the Bookstore. At least twice the value of the lost laptop.

[SorthNarolina]

Ok just to update with more info

I decided I wasn't happy with my major but I couldn't switch majors in spring since none of the ones that I wanted to do started in the spring. So I went to community college for this semester. It's an itty bitty little college with only 20 security cameras. I watched the tapes with the chief of security and they couldn't find anything because they have so few cameras.

I originally did not want to seek compensation because I lost it. It's the police and school security who told me I was no longer liable once it reached lost and found. I actually asked a question similar to the ones you have posed. I figured since they were just trying to help me out that they didn't owe me anything but the cops and security told me otherwise.

I think the policy most schools have is once it reached lost and found, it's the schools liability. If protocol was followed the guy would not have gotten my laptop. The woman at the desk was so unbelievably incompetent that it overrules my irresponsibility of losing it. I know that sounds terrible but this is what I've been told by the police and campus security.

This went all the way up to the VP of the school in terms of the meetings they had about it.

My mom worked at a nice law firm for a very long time so I could ask for a favor but I'm trying to avoid that. Hiring a lawyer wouldn't make any sense as the laptop is only worth about $400 dollars max due to depreciation.

At the very least I just want them to give me some kind of formal statement that it was their fault and they will take measures to make sure it never happens again. I would like some compensation though just due to the fact that this woman was so negligent in her duties.